Collectible card giant Panini steps into blockchain collectibles

Panini America will introduce its first officially-licensed trading cards using blockchain technology. They designed these cards following the beloved National Treasure design, and the collection will feature one hundred athletes from all kinds of sports and from different generations. The cards will launch in early January 2020.

Each of the cards is both physical and on the blockchain, underlining its authenticity. The pictured athletes include basketball legend Kobe Bryant, American football champ Tom Brady, iconic football legend Diego Armando Maradona and modern heroes like Neymar and Christian Pulisic.

The cards will be auctioned using US dollars. The buyer of an asset gets a physical card, including an autograph of the player and in some case even a piece of memorabilia. In addition the buyer will receive an exact representation of the physical product stored on the Panini's own in-house blockchain.

Panini dedicated to using blockchain

This move into the blockchain industry is not a gimmick. Panini America wants to do more in this field. The company also announced plans to release blockchain versions of upcoming physical card collections in the NFL, NBA and MLB.

"We have spent years researching and exploring the best possible way to incorporate blockchain into our trading cards as another level of authentication – as well as the best way to introduce blockchain to sports fans and collectors.  We believe our platform and the fact that the cards will be sold in U.S. dollars rather than a digital currency will help fans and collectors have a better understanding, knowing that their cards utilize blockchain as another level of authenticity," 

Mark Warsop, CEO of Panini America (press release)

Using blockchain for authenticity

Panini America isn't the only company connecting a physical product to a digital token on the blockchain. Chinese blockchain platform VeChain is using their technology to show proof that food is actually coming from France, while shoe company New Balance is putting its shoes on the blockchain to battle the problem of counterfeits.

There are entire industries looking at these types of authentication services. In Turkey and Europe banks put gold on the blockchain to make trading easier. In addition jewelry artists use the technology to provide authenticity to their customers. Even in the automotive industry blockchain is valuable, because it provides insight in the supply chain of for example minerals.